A gimbal for a conditioning system for a CMP tool is configured to maintain a conditioning disk in contact with a polishing pad of the CMP tool. The gimbal includes an arm coupling for coupling to a conditioning swing arm of the CMP tool; and a disk holder for holding the conditioning disk. A flexible diaphragm extends between the arm coupling and the disk holder. The flexible diaphragm allows the disk holder to flex relative to the arm coupling. The flexible diaphragm is made of a metal or metal alloy.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A gimbal configured to maintain a conditioning disk in contact with a polishing pad of a chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) tool, the gimbal comprising: an arm coupling for coupling to a conditioning swing arm of the CMP tool; a disk holder for holding the conditioning disk; and a flexible diaphragm extending between the arm coupling and the disk holder, the flexible diaphragm allowing the disk holder to flex relative to the arm coupling, wherein the flexible diaphragm is made of a metal or metal alloy and includes a wall including a plurality of rigidity weakening elements in at least one surface of the wall, each of the plurality of rigidity weakening elements having a respective depth that is less than a thickness of the wall, allowing the wall to flex.
2. The gimbal of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of rigidity weakening elements includes a plurality of concentric grooves in the at least one surface of the wall.
3. The gimbal of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of rigidity weakening elements include at least one spiral groove in the at least one surface of the wall.
4. The gimbal of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of rigidity weakening elements include a plurality of radially extending grooves in the at least one surface of the wall.
5. The gimbal of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of rigidity weakening elements includes a plurality of grooves in the at least one surface of the wall, each groove having at least one of a concentric, spiral or radially extending configuration.
6. The gimbal of claim 1 , wherein the wall has a frusto-conical shape.
7. The gimbal of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of rigidity weakening elements are in an upper surface and a lower surface of the wall.
8. The gimbal of claim 1 , wherein the flexible diaphragm allows the disk holder to flex relative to the arm coupling in a range of approximately 0.1 to 1.5 millimeters.
9. The gimbal of claim 1 , wherein the arm coupling, the disk holder and the flexible diaphragm are integrally coupled as a unitary piece of metal or metal alloy.
10. The gimbal of claim 1 , wherein the flexible diaphragm is made of a material selected from the group consisting of: stainless steel and aluminum.
11. A conditioning system for a polishing pad of a chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) tool, the conditioning system comprising: a conditioning swing arm configured to swing and rotate a conditioning disk in contact with the polishing pad; and a gimbal configured to maintain the conditioning disk in contact with the polishing pad, the gimbal including an arm coupling for coupling to the conditioning swing arm, a disk holder for holding the conditioning disk, and a flexible diaphragm extending between the arm coupling and the disk holder, the flexible diaphragm allowing the disk holder to flex relative to the arm coupling, wherein the flexible diaphragm is made of a metal or metal alloy and includes a wall including a plurality of rigidity weakening elements in at least one surface of the wall, each of the plurality of rigidity weakening elements having a respective depth that is less than a thickness of the wall, allowing the wall to flex.
12. The conditioning system of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of rigidity weakening elements includes a plurality of concentric grooves in the at least one surface of the wall.
13. The conditioning system of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of rigidity weakening elements include at least one spiral groove in the at least one surface of the wall.
14. The conditioning system of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of rigidity weakening elements include a plurality of radially extending grooves in the at least one surface of the wall.
15. The conditioning system of claim 11 , wherein the wall has a frusto-conical shape.
16. The conditioning system of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of rigidity weakening elements are in an upper surface and a lower surface of the wall.
17. The conditioning system of claim 11 , wherein the arm coupling, the disk holder and the flexible diaphragm are integrally coupled as a unitary piece of metal or metal alloy.
18. The conditioning system of claim 11 , further comprising a conditioning disk coupled to the disk holder.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
March 19, 2018
October 27, 2020
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